Crisis Communication Think Tank

C. Richard Yarbrough Professor in Crisis Communication Leadership, Professor of Public Relations and Associate Director of Center for Health & Risk Communication, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Director of Programming and Development, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Dr. Bryan Reber, professor emeritus, is the former C. Richard Yarbrough Professor in Crisis Communication Leadership and former director of the CCTT.

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, Co-Director of Center for Health & Risk Communication, Professor, Advertising & Public Relations, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management
International Communication Association (ICA) Fellow

Chief Communications Officer, City of Lawrenceville

Independent Consultant
Formerly the Director of Communications, The Wallace Foundation

Independent Researcher

Segment General Manager
Lexis Nexis

Partner at Lexicon Strategies

Senior Vice President of Membership & Marketing
Knights of Columbus

Executive Director, Public Relations
Wellstar Health Systems

Terry Distinguished Chair of Business Administration, Associate Dean for Research and Executive Programs
Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

Professor and Chair, Department of Communication
Clemson University

Communication Expert
Clemson University

Chief Communications Officer and Senior Vice President
American Medical Association (AMA)

Chief Communications Officer
Markel

University Spokesperson and Senior Advisor for Crisis Communications
University of Georgia

Carolyn Caudell Tieger Professor of Public Affairs Communication
Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia

Senior Principal Program Lead, Crisis Communications and International
Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Director, Public Affairs
Cox Communications

Global Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Senior Director
Campari Group, Italy

Associate Professor in Corporate Communication
Ghent University, Belgium

Professor in Strategic Communication
Lund University, Sweden

Professor, Department of Management
Aarhus University, Denmark

Senior VP, Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability
VR Group, Finland

Professor, Department of Media and Communication
University of Oslo, Norway

Professor, Department of Management
Aarhus University, Denmark

Head of External Communications & Government Affairs
Piaggio Aerospace, Italy

Associate Professor of Management
IULM University in Milan, Italy

Professor for Media Management and Journalism
Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany

Head of Corporate Communication
Silkeborg Kommune, Denmark

Director of Fundraising and Communication
Civil Rights Defenders, Sweden

Professor of Communication Management (Practice) at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business; Associate Dean (Partnerships & Engagement) as well as Academic Director, MSc in Communication Management
Singapore Management University, Singapore

Managing Partner
Akkanto, Belgium

Global Head of Internal Communications and Engagement
TUI, Germany

Managing Director
Conducttr Germany GmbH, Germany

Executive Chairman of the Board; Consultant
Tekir Oy, Finland

Senior Researcher (Associate Professor) in Risk and Crisis Communication
Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany

Founder & CEO, Imagem Corporativa, Brazil
Imagem Corporativa, Brazil

Professor of Corporate Communication; Head of Corporate Communication Discipline
University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Associate Professor in Corporate Communication
Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Partner and Co-Director, CCTT International

Senior Director of Public Affairs & Communication
Corbion, Netherlands

Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication
Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

Manager for international cooperation, European Integrations and communications
Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia, Serbia

Department Head, Department of Insurance, Legal Studies and Real Estate
Terry College of Business, UGA

Lecturer, Legal Studies
Terry College of Business, UGA

Crisis & Emergency Risk Communication Consultant. Vice President, International Association of Risk & Crisis Communication (IARCC).

Prof. Dr. Yang/Alice Cheng is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Communication and an adjunct professor at the Poole College of Management, NCSU.

Transformational leader with 27 years of experience in business development, consulting and delivery of global IT security solutions across a diverse set of industries with Fortune 500 and public-sector organizations. Jeff is a graduate of Northern Arizona University and earned his Executive MBA from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. 

Mr. Lupo is a Senior Public Service Associate with the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Information Technology Outreach Service (CVIOG ITOS) and serves in the role as the UGA CyberArch Coordinator. He has been with UGA since 2005, specializing in small business consulting, business continuity, emergency preparedness and cybersecurity. Mr. Lupo has a passion for working with community organizations, helping others successfully identify the path, and the resources, needed to develop a stronger cybersecurity infrastructure and posture against a rising threat landscape.

Jason Anthoine (ABJ ’89) is the Head Honcho of Jason Anthoine | Employee Experienced, where he helps companies reimagine their relationships with their blue collar employees.

Silvia Ravazzani (PhD) is Associate Professor of Management at the Department of Business LECB “Carlo A. Ricciardi”, Università IULM, Italy.

Matthew R. Auer is Dean and Arch Professor of Public and International Affairs at the School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia (UGA). Prior to his appointment at UGA, Auer served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. 

Dr. Brett Robertson (Ph. D., The University of Texas at Austin) is an assistant professor in the College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina. He studies communication technology use in organizational, risk, and mass communication contexts. His research projects explore how individuals use social media and mobile devices in the workplace and disaster-related contexts. Much of his recent focus has been on disaster preparedness and prevention communication.

Kristin Gearty, an award-winning healthcare communications specialist, is experienced in issues management and crisis communications, having worked at global agencies, corporations and non-profit organizations. Her representative experience includes COVID-19 crisis communications, clinical trial disruptions and discontinuations, black box warnings on RX medications, treatment shortages, spokesperson scandals; and major health crisis events such as the rare disease drug price protests, anti-hormone movement and the implosion of the silicone breast implant industry. Currently, Kristin is a senior communications specialist at a new women’s health biotech. Kristin earned her B.A. in English at Colgate University and Goucher College. She also studied Russian Language & Literature at Johns Hopkins University.

Amitabh Verma is a Visual Communicator whose expertise derives from his background in architecture, graphic design, and visual composition. With extensive experience in teaching as well as professional practice, his work integrates both the theoretical and applied aspects of design. His interest is in maximizing the impact of crisis messaging by framing content within architectural techniques recognized for their efficacy, aesthetic appeal, and accessibility.

He obtained a BArch (with Honors) from Mumbai University and an MLA (with Distinction) from the University of Georgia. He worked at architecture and urban design firms in Atlanta for 12 years before starting to teach in 2006 at the University of Georgia, where he is an Associate Professor at the College of Environment + Design.

Santosh Vijaykumar is an associate professor and public engagement lead, as well as the director of the Cognitive and Health Infodemics Research Programme (CHIRP) at Northumbria University, United Kingdom.

Pablo Halpern is a reputation strategist. He has provided counsel to presidents of countries and over 100 multinational corporations. He was Senior Counselor for Edelman in its Washington, DC office. He served as the Director of Communications for the Chilean government, where he was responsible for communications strategy, international marketing, and public opinion research. Between 2007 and 2024, he was a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Halpern holds a PhD in Communications from the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, an MA from the Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia, and a BA in Social Psychology from Boston University.

Su Lin Yeo is an Associate Professor of Communication Management (Practice) at the Singapore Management University. She serves on the Faculty Senate and additionally sits on national health boards as an advisor on stakeholder engagement and communication. She teaches a range of full-credit communication modules in the business school which includes the MBA and EMBA. Her primary research interests focus primarily on Corporate Reputation, Crisis Communication, and Public Health Communication. She has 12 years of professional experience managing corporate communication and investor relations in the banking and financial services prior to pursuing a career in academia.

Patrick D. Conner joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2014, and he leads courses with a concentration in drafting for litigation, internal investigations and contracts. He was recognized with the school’s inaugural Carol A. Watson Award for Outstanding Legal Research or Writing Instructor in 2020 and then received the award again in 2021 and 2024.
Conner has 14 years of experience as an attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to partner in 2007. At this firm, he specialized in high-stakes litigation and regulatory investigations. He also served as chair of the Morgan Lewis Washington Office Professional Development Committee that provided training and professional development instruction to over 100 associates. Previously, he worked with Fellows, Johnson & La Briola in Atlanta, Ga., from 1998 to 2000, where he primarily focused on commercial cases in federal and state courts.
Conner’s work has been published in Investment Lawyer, and he has been quoted in Investment Adviser Week as well as the Washington Post.
He earned his bachelor’s degree cum laude and with honors in 1995 and his Juris Doctor cum laude in 1998, both from UGA.

Tom Crosson is a seasoned, award-winning communications leader with over 17 years of experience across Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. Government. He is currently a Managing Director at Joele Frank, a leading strategic financial communications and investor relations firm. Tom provides counsel and communications support to companies involved in a broad range of special situations and high-profile corporate events. Those include proxy contests, mergers and acquisitions, crisis management, along with advising on ongoing corporate communications strategies.
Prior to his current role, Tom held senior corporate communications roles at Norfolk Southern, Inspire Brands, Truist Financial, and SunTrust Banks. He began his career on Capitol Hill, where he served as Senior Advisor to Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio), Press Secretary to Rep. Rob Wittman (Virginia), and on the staff of the House Oversight Committee.
Tom is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society’s Page Up, the Financial Communications Society, and the National Eagle Scout Association. He earned a BA in political science and economics from Purdue University, and an MBA in strategy from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Dr. James Ndone teaches public relations and research methods at Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina. His research focuses on crisis communication, particularly the role of emotions in influencing public perception and organizational outcomes. Originally from Kenya, Dr. Ndone’s background includes journalism with Nation Media Group and public relations at Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS). He earned his MA in communication from Illinois State University and completed his PhD at the Missouri School of Journalism in 2021.

Taylor Voges, Ph.D., is a champion for integrating analytics into everyday communication strategies, and applying innovative approaches to better showcase the impact of clients’ marketing campaigns. With an additional background in communications research, film and television, digital media and politics, she understands the need to view work holistically and encourages others to embrace an integrated approach to work and life. Taylor completed her doctorate at the University of Georgia in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations ethics and morality, where she studied practitioners’ willingness to advocate during times of issues or crises. Along the way, she developed a strong passion for bridging the impact of the academy and communication practice, which led to her work as a research and analytics consultant for high-profile clients—especially those dealing with issues or crises. In addition, Taylor has published book chapters and research in various academic journals on topics like public relations ethics and law, crisis spillover and more.